UNH Study: Young professionals seeking full-time jobs ‘feel pinch’

Friday

Nov 16, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Andrea Bulfinchabulfinch@fosters.com

DURHAM — Full-time employment openings may remain limited, according to a new study by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, which says younger workers looking for those positions may be at a disadvantage.

The study says workers, especially under 30 years of age, are “feeling the pinch” of the lingering effects of the “Great Recession.”

Those without a college degree may feel the tightening even more, the study suggests.

“These workers represent a source of untapped economic capital, as their jobs do not allow them to maximize their output or skills. This has conse­quences for both the economy as a whole and the well-being of the underemployed and their families,” Justin Young, a doctoral student in sociology at UNH and a research assistant at the Carsey Institute, said.

While the rate of unemployment for this group seems to be declining, it has not returned to prerecession levels and there are other “economic forces” keeping older workers in the workforce, therefore lessening the availability of full-time work.

Young could not be reached for comment on the issue of underemployment.

Defined as “part-time workers in search of full-time work,” or those working part-time due to the hours of a past full-time job being “reduced involuntarily,” the unemployed who are also undereducated have a bleaker outlook than those whose resumes boast higher education.

“The least educated are also the most susceptible to being relegated to part-time work, thereby lowering their already lower-than-average wages. Those with no more than a high school diploma had the highest rates of involuntary part-time employment and experienced a larger increase in this form of underemployment during the recession,” Young said in a statement issued Tuesday regarding the study.

Furthermore, the study concluded rates for underemployment or “involuntary part-time work” doubled during the second year of the recession to 6.5 percent in 2009. These numbers, the study indicates, are on par for both rural and urban locations, though in March of this year, underemployment was slightly lower in rural spots with 4.8 percent as compared to more urban areas with 5.3 percent.

And the longer period of time a worker is underemployed, the harder it seems to become to find a new career, the study shows.

“The longer workers are underemployed, the more difficult it becomes to move into better jobs as their skills and employers’ perceptions of their skills deteriorate or remain stagnant. Further, if those entering the job market bear the financial ‘scars’ of the current recession for years to come, economic recovery may be that much slower and the quality of life for these workers lower. Policies to address unemployment and stimulate the economy should target underemployment as well as unemployment to be effective,” Young said.